Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Abhishek Sharma will be under pressure in the T20I series against England as he hasn’t been amongst the runs. The renowned commentator noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal is putting pressure on Sharma by performing consistently in other formats.
Sharma scored a blistering century against Zimbabwe in his second game but barring that, he hasn’t scored runs consistently.
The left-hander has scored 256 runs in 12 matches at an average of 23.27 and a strike rate of 171.81, with the help of one century and one fifty.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal was India’s highest run-getter in the recent Border-Gavaskar trophy as he scored 391 runs in five Test matches at an average of 43.44.
Jaiswal has played 23 T20Is for India in which he has scored 723 runs at an average of 36.15 but he is yet to make his ODI debut.
“Abhishek Sharma has been given a vote of confidence, which I liked, as he has been kept with the team. However, he was hanging by a thin thread. Let’s be fair, Yashasvi Jaiswal won’t let him breathe. He is breathing down his neck and it’s absolutely right,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra noted that Jaiswal might not play any white-ball cricket before jetting off to Dubai for the Champions Trophy.
“He is also a left-hander who plays similarly. He is a three-format player and is in form currently. After some time, you might start thinking as an Indian fan that he won’t get a chance in ODIs as Shubman (Gill) and Rohit (Sharma) will open, and then what cricket would he have played when he goes for the Champions Trophy?” he observed.
“Only Ranji Trophy, that’s not a great story. If you see from that angle, this is a massive opportunity for Abhishek. He hasn’t made the most of his opportunities thus far. The century he scored in Zimbabwe was excellent. Then he played one good knock in South Africa,” Chopra elaborated.
The reputed commentator highlighted that short balls are troubling Abhishek Sharma and he needs to find a solution.
“Short balls are troubling him and short bowling will be done to him here also. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson are there, and they are all going to bowl bouncers. Jamie Overton is also a tall bowler. So all of them will try to trouble you with short balls. That’s when I feel he will have to find a different way,” he said.
“The team’s philosophy has become that they will hit. However, if you have two bad innings while trying to hit, the story will change completely. It seems like Abhishek might get all five games as the selectors haven’t picked a third opener. However, it doesn’t take time for things to change in Indian cricket these days. So there will be immense pressure on Abhishek Sharma,” Chopra observed.
India and England will take on each other in the opening T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday.
